Girl Meets Disappearing
by Belle Goode
Summary: AU: The kids are all sixteen and seventeen and a secret threatens to bring Riley and the crew to their breaking points. Will they be able to save her in time? - Summary is kinda lame. First GMW fic. Give it a shot! Hope you all like it. Rating changed to T for subject matter.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So this is my first GMW fic. I hope everyone enjoys. I've been working on it for a while but finally got up the gumption to post it. Still a work in progress but I'll try to update as quickly as possible. Please, please review and let me know what you think! - Side note: I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **MAYA'S POV**

"I did it again, didn't I, Peaches?"

Letting her breath out as she held her best friend, she nodded lightly against her hair. "It's okay, Pumpkin. Tomorrow is another day." and she closed her eyes as she felt the weight of the brunette on her shoulder. She hoped it wouldn't always be like this, but admittedly, she wondered if they would ever move past it. She felt the wet tears now soaking her shirt.

"I'm sorry. I keep letting you down."

"No, you're not letting me down. I just can't help but worry about you." and she kissed her temple. Once she was asleep, she sent a short text to the Matthews' letting them know she'd found her and she was with her. Then, unable to stop herself tonight, she put in his number and sent him a text. She had promised herself she wouldn't get involved but this was killing her best friend. She was getting worse and worse, spiraling out of control. What made it worse, was that no one but her, even knew why, including Lucas. Taking a deep breath, she used the digital keyboard and hit send. She hoped she was doing the right thing.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

" _She's in bad shape. You have no idea what this is doing to her."_

Staring at the words, his blood boiled. What this was doing to her? What about what she'd done to him? "How soon we forget who told me to leave and slapped me in front of the entire school. And it's killing _her_? Maybe she shouldn't have told me to take a flying leap and then leave me standing there."

" _She was confused, and hurt."_

"Seriously? Hurt by what?"

" _She saw you kissing Missy, Huckleberry!"_

The blood in his veins froze. When she'd planted one on him, he had pushed her away and hoped like hell no one had seen them and gotten the wrong idea. But to know now, that not only had someone seen them, it was Riley. "Why didn't she ever tell me?"

" _Hurt? Confused? What did you expect?"_

"Well for the record, I didn't kiss Missy. She kissed me, and I pushed her away."

" _Why didn't you tell her that?"_

"I didn't even know she'd seen us! I didn't understand what was going on!"

" _So you just decided to leave?"_

"She told me to! What was I going to do?"

" _You didn't even fight for her."_

"I wasn't going to fight her. She made sure I knew how she felt and she made it loud and clear. So I did what she wanted."

Irritated, he threw his phone down, not even looking at it when he heard it ding again. Pacing his floor, he stared out his window, looking down on the streets below. It had dinged another couple of times before his room fell silent for the night. Standing there for he didn't know how long, he finally glanced at the clock and made his way to his bed. Grabbing his phone, he clicked the screen on and read the messages.

" _You should have fought for her. She's dying inside."_

" _Think about that while you sleep tonight."_

" _You should have tried."_

Finding himself shaking with emotion, he set his phone down and thought back to that day. The sheer anger in her eyes was enough to bring a man to his knees. It was hard for him to remember it, even now. The slap to his face left a red handprint on his cheek for almost six hours, and the sting lasted for weeks after.

He'd started a new school closer to his house, and had become almost reclusive, not really seeking out anyone as a friend. He'd made himself as unapproachable as possible and it had worked. There had been a couple of guys that randomly gave him a head nod, and he'd nod back, but that had been the extent of it.

Grabbing his phone once again, he pulled up a number he hadn't used in a long time. It had just been too hard to talk to anyone after it all went down and he changed schools. Pulling up the empty box, he typed in only the word "Hey." and hit send. Putting his phone back down on the bedside table, he clicked off the lamp and turned over, closing his eyes and going to sleep.

* * *

 **CORY'S POV**

"She's okay." Topanga breathed out, looking at her phone. "Thank God for Maya. I don't know what we would do if she wasn't a part of our lives."

Cory sat down on the couch, exhausted from pacing. "Where was she?" he asked, exasperated.

"She didn't say. Just that she'd found her and she was at her place for the night."

"I don't know what to do with her. She can't keep doing this to herself."

"I don't know either. Maybe we can get her to a therapist."

"Honey, I see what you're saying, but the last guy didn't do anything."

"We have to do something. She's getting worse! I can't watch my little girl keep...destroying herself like this! She never eats any more, she's barely passing school, she's going to be a Junior next year and I don't know if she's even going to make it, I mean...when was the last time you saw her smile?"

Letting his breath out, he looked up at his wife with sad eyes. "I don't know what to do any more."

Sitting down beside him, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "I don't either. She won't talk any more, she never says anything about how she's doing to you or me. At least she talks to Maya."

Wrapping his arm around her, he nodded. "I'll see if I can talk to her and see if she has any ideas. I just hate to be putting all of this on her. She's so young."

"I know."

* * *

 **RILEY'S POV**

Opening bleary eyes, she stared at her surroundings. She couldn't remember a lot of last night. It took her a second to realize she was at Maya's. Sitting up and throwing her feet to the floor, she instantly put her head between her knees.

Opening her door, she leaned against the door jamb. "Morning, Sunshine."

A short moan was her reply. She felt the bed sink as her best friend sat beside her. Not raising up, she felt a hand rub her back. "What's wrong with me, Maya?"

It had come out so softly, she wouldn't have heard her if she hadn't been beside her. "You've been through a lot, Pumpkin. You're just trying to deal with things. But you need help. Help that I can't give you. Don't get me wrong, I'll never leave your side, but you can't keep doing this to yourself. You're killing yourself slowly."

Sitting up, she looked into the eyes of her only rock. The tears were brimming her bottom lids.

"Talk to someone."

"I can't."

"You talked to me." she argued back softly.

"You're different. You're Peaches. You'd never tell my secret."

"And I never will. But you need to talk to someone. Tell someone. It's killing your parents when they have to call me because you're gone again. And I would never tell them what's happened, but you're tearing them up inside."

The guilt was piling on. She felt like she was going to be sick. She needed to get away. She needed a release. "I have to go."

"Riley..."

"I'm just going to take a walk."

They both knew she was lying. She was going to find a place to disappear. That's what she called it. A place to get away. A place where she could blend in with the crowds and not be found by anyone. A place where even Rileytown couldn't find her. But there inlaid the problem. When no one could find her, there was no telling how much trouble she was getting into and with whom. She had a bad feeling about this. She'd never gone somewhere to 'disappear' this early in the day. "What about your parents?"

"I'll text them later."

"Riley, I really think you should..."

Stepping closer, she kissed her on the forehead. "I'll call you later, Peaches." then she stopped and turned before walking out the door, giving her best friend a sad smile. "Thanks for everything. You know I love you."

Sighing in defeat, she blinked slowly. "I love you too, Pumpkin. Please be careful."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much for all the reviews!**

 **Dauntless: I thought about what you said and went in, putting POV's on the first chapter as well. When I went back and read it, I could definitely see your point about it being confusing.**

 **Sand: Thanks! I hope I don't disappoint!**

 **Kid: Yes, they are all there, just give it a little bit and everyone will make their appearances. :)**

 **Guest: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. I hope I continue to keep you wanting more...but in a good way!**

 **Guest: *blush* Thanks! Here's the next chapter.**

 **This chapter is a little bit longer, but I hope you guys like it as well as you did the last one! :)** **\- Side note: I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **RILEY'S POV**

Pulling her collar up around her neck, she made her way through the streets. She needed to find Benny. He would be able to help her. She couldn't warm up, no matter how hard she tried. But the cold at least let her know she was alive. For all the good it did. She'd gone so far from everything, even _she_ couldn't believe she'd gone through what she did and hadn't told anyone.

She'd just been so angry at him for what she saw. The feeling of all the blood draining from her face, it had been a knee jerk reaction slapping him in front of everyone. She shouldn't have been surprised that he actually did leave, and didn't come back. The look in his eyes told her he would do what she wanted.

She had no one to blame, but herself. It was her fault it had all happened. All of it. Swiping at the tear that made it's way down her cheek, she cleared her throat, seeing Skip.

"Hey, you."

Skip looked up. He was thin and his skin paler than most. She often picked at him and told him he needed a tanning bed. His black dyed hair washed his skin out even more it seemed and the piercings everywhere, kept most people away from him. "What do you need, brat?"

She knew he called her brat as a term of endearment and half grinned at him. "You seen Benny?"

"Benny? What's the matter, sugar? You need a pick me up?"

Blinking a long blink, she shrugged. "I need to disappear." she said softly.

Studying her soft face, he wondered who in the world ever made her as sad as she was. She was one of those people who could have been happy once. He could see that she most likely had been happy once. But she was traveling down a dangerous road, and Benny would lead her straight there, with no qualms. No, she deserved better. "Why don't you hang around with me for a bit today, huh? See if we can find something to get into later. I heard Benny got locked up anyway."

Not sure if he was telling the truth or if he just didn't want her going anywhere else, she debated.

"Besides, I got some stuff that will definitely help numb the pain. Home made."

Letting her breath out, she shrugged. What the hell. Anything was better than what she felt now.

* * *

 **FARKLE'S POV**

Staring at his phone, he debated answering. He'd ignored it when his phone signaled the incoming text at almost three in the morning. What did he want after all this time? "You know, just because you left because of Riley, doesn't mean the rest of us were just as eager to get rid of you."

" _I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have stopped talking to everyone. It was just hard for me."_

"Hard for you? You just left and left us hanging with it!"

" _I'm sorry! I didn't know what was going on!"_

"None of us did! But that doesn't mean you just dump all of us because you get into a fight with Riley!"

There was a long wait for an answer, he wondered if he was even going to get one.

" _Missy kissed me. I stopped it as soon as she did, but Riley saw us. I didn't know this until last night when Maya text me."_

Maya. She knew? Well, of course she would, she was Riley's best friend. But she should have told everyone else.

" _Have you seen Riley?"_

"I haven't seen anybody since a few weeks after you left. Maya and Riley went on their own merry ways and I was left to my own devices. Smackle found a new group and changed schools. Even Zay found the jocks to hang with."

" _Oh. I'm sorry."_

Letting his breath out, he sent a reply. "I heard Riley isn't doing good at all. Something happened after you left. I don't know what, but she changed. Her dad pulled me aside the other day and asked me if I would talk to her."

" _Did you?"_

"I couldn't find her. She ditched and Maya wouldn't tell me where she was." Biting his bottom lip, he sent back, "I think she's in real trouble. A lot of people are really worried about her."

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

" _I think she's in real trouble. A lot of people are really worried about her."_

He must have stared at those words for an hour. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he debated for a long time, before getting dressed. It had gone on long enough. Leaving a note on the table, he told his mom he was going to help a friend and would be home later.

Getting on the subway, it seemed strange to be taking the familiar route to the other side of town. Hopping off, he spotted the blond immediately. He smiled slightly and waved. "Maya!" and then his face became confused. "Farkle?"

"Well. Looks like the whole group is here."

"Most of us anyway." Farkle spouted. "Why are you here?"

"I was going to find Riley and talk to her. What are you two doing? I thought you said you haven't seen each other."

"We haven't." Maya started. "But Topanga text me earlier. Riley is missing, again. She never text them earlier or called me, like she said she was going to and I'm scared she's in real trouble. When she left this morning I knew she wasn't going to come home. Something about the look in her face and the way she told me she loved me."

Farkle's earlier words, stabbed him in the heart.

"I need his help. But now that you're here too, Ranger Rick, you can help. There are three main places she goes. There's a place on Eighth Street, there's a place on Summer Ave and there's a place on MLK."

"Those are all in the bad part of town."

"That's where I find her. And be prepared, she's probably drunk and either with a guy named Benny, or a guy named Skip."

His heart fell out of his chest. "How bad is she?"

"It doesn't matter. Does everyone have a phone?"

All three brought theirs up. Maya seemed to be in command of the group and at this point, he was really glad he'd decided to come, regardless of when or why.

"I'll take Eighth, Farkle, you've got Summer, and Lucas, you take MLK. If she's on Summer, she'll be in a little white house on the left after the blue one. If she's on MLK she'll be in a two story run down building that's been condemned but people like to hang out in. Everyone stay in touch, period. Oh, and one last thing, no one knows her out there by Riley. They all call her Little Bit."

Making his way toward the subway car, he got back in and held his breath. What in the hell was she thinking? What had she been doing? He felt sick to his stomach. What had she done to herself?

Getting out, he made his way down the street until he saw the building she'd been talking about. There were lights and loud music coming from it, and it seemed no one thought it was out of the ordinary. He could see why people stayed away from this part of town. Everyone looked like they were going to kill you.

Buffing himself up, he walked into the building, walking around and looking at all the faces there. There was a bowl of pills lying in the middle of the floor and there were couches everywhere with couples making out on almost all of them. Doing a quick walk through, he was oddly relieved, though admittedly a bit disappointed that he hadn't found her, until he stopped on his way out. She was sitting there, on the couch, a guy beside her that looked very emo, and she was almost completely out of it.

Her dark hair was hung down as it generally was but she was so thin. Her eyes had dark circles and her cheeks were so defined now. She had a beer in her hand and there was no telling how many she'd had before then, or what else she'd drank or taken. She looked...frail. She'd always been little, but now she looked utterly defeated. Stepping up close to her, he cleared his throat. "Riley?"

Her eyes narrowed on him and he could tell. She was so broken.

Not able to formulate her own thoughts at the time, she simply stared. "Lucas." she whispered.

The emo kid turned his head toward her. "Huh?"

Unable to stop himself, he squatted down in front of her.

She could only stare. Reaching out softly, she touched his face, as if making sure he was real. She kept her hand on his chin and blinked as moisture filled her eyes. There was no way this was real. No way. So why not run with the fantasy? She was tired of seeing him in her dreams and being mad at him. She was tired of hurting. So if this was a dream, why not go for it?

"Come on. We need to get out of here."

"And go where?"

"Home."

Blinking slowly, she didn't stop the tear that leaked out. "I don't have a home."

"Sure you do. Come on. I'll take you there."

Suddenly, the kid beside Riley, sat forward. "Dude, who are you?"

As if a switch had been flipped, she stood, put her hand over her mouth, and bolted from the building. He was real. He was really there. This was real, not some drunken illusion from too much alcohol. He had found her. And he had seen her. She had to get away.

Following her, he ran after, quickly catching up. "Riley, wait..."

Stopping short, on the side of the building, she bent over and lost all contents of her stomach, in several violent bursts. Turning to face him after standing straight on none too steady legs, she wiped her mouth on her shirt sleeve and her eyes rolled back, lids closing as her body went completely lax and she lost consciousness.

Grabbing his phone after catching her and laying her on the ground, he dialed Maya.

"Did you find her?" she answered.

"Yeah, but she's really bad. She needs a hospital."

"No! You can't take her to a hospital. She just needs to sleep it off."

"She's not even conscious, Maya! She needs help!"

There was a short pause. "I'll be there in less than a minute." and the line went dead.

Touching her forehead to move the hair from her face, he noticed his hands shaking. He didn't know how long he stared at her, he simply knew that the next thing he realized was the blond of the duo, running toward him.

"I called Farkle. He should be here in a second." and she stopped short as she noticed them both on the ground. Dropping to her knees beside her, she lightly patted her face. "Riley?"

There was no response.

"Come on, Peaches. Talk to me." panic now lacing her voice.

Again, no response.

"Maya..."

"She's never been this bad before. Call 911."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Reviews!**

 **Dauntless: Great! I'm glad you are enjoying! :D**

 **Kkuron: I will work on more talking. Hopefully I can find a good medium here pretty quickly. :)**

 **Sand: I do have my mean streak. ;) But hey, a good author leaves you wanting more!**

 **Guest: I'm so glad you like it!**

 **Guest: It's not over yet.**

 **Kid: Never gave much thought to her nickname. I'll get on that one now. :)**

 **Side note: I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **CORY'S POV**

Riding in the ambulance with her, Maya and Farkle decided to call her parents and meet at the hospital.

Not letting go of her hand, the sounds inside the ambulance completely phased out around him. He was pacing the waiting room when everyone got there seemingly at the same time.

"Lucas!" he heard both her parents say to him, simultaneously.

Nodding, he didn't move as they approached and hugged him. "They haven't come out and told me anything, but honestly, I'm not a parent or family member so they wouldn't anyway."

"What happened?" Cory asked, much as a concerned parent would.

"I found her at a party in an abandoned building off of MLK. She was pretty out of it. She threw up and passed out. I don't know."

Sitting down, he ran his hands through his curly locks. "I knew something was going on. But I didn't expect this." then his eyes went to the girl in the room. "Did you know she was this bad?"

Not able to really deny it, her eyes screamed apology. "I...it wasn't...I'm..." and she was cut off, as a woman in scrubs appeared.

"Are you the family here for Riley Matthews?"

"Yes! We are her parents." Topanga declared.

"Nice to meet you both, my name is Doctor Shawnee Carthage." she stepped forward. Long red hair, pulled back into a ponytail. Her green eyes shined bright as freckles dotted her small nose. "I need you to step out into the hall with me please."

They followed. "How is she?"

"It's going to be touch and go for a little while. She's suffering from PID."

"PID?" they both asked, confused.

"Pelvic Inflammatory Disease." then she took in the girl's parent's confused gaze. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "Were you aware your daughter was sexually active?"

Both parents stared, unable to offer up explanation.

Breathing out through her nose, she continued. "It looks like she had either a miscarriage or an abortion. It's important to get into a doctor after either, because there are times when not everything will shed, or be cleaned out. It requires what's called a DNC, which allows us, as doctors, to make sure that nothing is still caught on the uterine walls. She didn't see a doctor after whatever happened to her. Because of it, it's caused a massive infection in her internal organs. We've got her on some very heavy antibiotics, but she's going to be pretty sick for the next few days. Also, the tox screen came back. It's a common procedure when we don't know what we're dealing with. Her alcohol level was point one-one. We didn't find any drugs in her system, but the alcohol mixed with the PID made for a bad combination tonight. I'll get you as soon as she's in a room." and she disappeared.

The room falling into a dead silence, both parents walked back in and turned to Maya. "Did you know she was drinking like this?" not mentioning the rest of what the nurse had said.

Resigning to keeping her silence any more, she nodded. She'd promised not to talk about the baby. She hadn't said anything about the drinking.

"Maya, what happened?"

"She's been struggling for a while. She just…" and she shrugged, "...shut down."

Cory paced the room back and forth for a long time. Making his way out into the hallway, he told his wife he was going for coffee. Grabbing his phone, he typed in simply "I need you here." and hit send.

* * *

 **SHAWN'S POV**

When Maya looked up an hour later, tears pooled in her eyes. "Shawn! Mom!"

"What happened?" he asked, seeing Cory and Topanga sitting alone in the corner.

"They're waiting to get her a room."

Studying her closely, he hugged her, knowing she needed the support. "What happened?" he asked again.

"She was at a party. I guess she had too much to drink and she passed out."

Full of emotion, Cory stood up. "Now let me fill you in on the rest of the story!" and he started pacing again. Pointing toward Lucas, he took a deep breath. "He got my little girl pregnant! And then, she either lost the baby or had an abortion, but either way, it wasn't done correctly! She's been drinking, she has stopped talking to anyone, she never eats any more. And all because of him!" he said, almost shouting.

Topanga stood up. "Cory. It's not his fault this happened." her voice, firm yet soothing.

Turning, he stopped. Still pointing to the younger male in the seat, he argued. "He should have protected her." and then he broke, unable to stop himself, tears ran down his face. "I should have protected her. She's my baby. I should have kept her safe. I should have..." and he stepped forward into his wife's embrace.

Not stopping her own tears, she held him as he finally got out all of his frustration.

Suddenly, blue eyes were on Maya as the other blond gazed toward her. "It wasn't an abortion, I swear!" she defended, knowing where he was going.

"How could I _not_ know!?" Topanga asked, finally voicing her own frustration.

"I promise, as far as I know, it was only one time!"

All eyes fell to Lucas. He felt like a cell on a microscope slide. Then something occurred to him. Feeling weak in the knees, he sat back down where he'd stood briefly. Instead of denying anything, he looked at Riley's best friend. "She...she got pregnant?"

Biting her lip, the tears finally brimmed her own eyes as her head nodded up and down. "She was coming to tell you, when she saw you and Missy."

Unable to stop his own eyes from misting, he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Swallowing hard, he stared at her. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"You were kissing Missy."

"I wasn't! I told you that!"

"But she didn't know that."

"So then...what happened?" he asked, the two of them ignoring everyone else in the room.

Maya shrugged. "Stress? Upset? Guilt? I don't know. A couple of weeks later, she was in class and she started cramping really bad. She got up and went to the bathroom. I asked if I could help and the teacher let me. There was blood everywhere. I didn't even know until then. She hadn't even told me." she struggled to get through it, crying now. "I begged her to go to the doctor's office but she refused. I got her home and she went downhill from there. It wasn't long after that, that she decided she wanted to start 'escaping reality'." she said, her fingers in the air, imitating quotations. "She would tell me she wanted to disappear. That's when she started hanging out with Skip and Benny."

"Skip and Benny? Who are these guys? Maya, what have you been letting her do?" Cory asked, not thinking about what he was saying.

His wife standing beside him, she grabbed his arm again. "You know as well as I do, how stubborn our daughter can be. It's no more her fault than it is his."

"But dammit, she _knows_ better! I've taught her better. You've taught her better. We've had a million talks." then his eyes went back to the teenager sitting in the chair. "And how could you do that to her? She's just a baby! How could you two be so stupid? You didn't even use protection?"

Clearing his throat and looking around the room as it fell silent, Shawn looked at all the kid's faces as they stood there. He was about to say something when a nurse made her way into the room. Her dark skin and soft smile almost made it seem not so bad.

"Mister and Misses Matthews?"

"Yes." they both answered at the same time.

"We have her in a room. You can see her. But we can only have you back, a couple to three at a time. We don't want to overwhelm her, she's got a long way to go. She's very sick right now."

Sitting there with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, he swallowed hard. He watched her parents and Maya all follow the nurse, deciding at this point, he would wait until the last possible moment to come face to face with his mistakes.

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

He didn't feel his friend sit down next to him. "Lucas?"

"I didn't know, Farkle. I swear, I didn't know."

"I know. It's okay."

"It's not okay." he said, lifting his head, sheer guilt written all over his face. "Mister Matthews is right. I should have protected her. It was my responsibility. We didn't mean for it to happen. It was just one time." he said, whispering. "We didn't mean for it to happen."

Shawn stepped up closer to him and put his hand on the kid's shoulder. "It's okay, Lucas. It wasn't your fault. Should you have used protection? Yeah. I'll give you that. But you didn't. You'll deal with it."

His head shook back and forth. He was wrong. Her dad had been right. He had owed it to her to keep her safe. As his girlfriend. As his partner. As his friend. "I can't believe she's been dealing with this...alone, this whole time. I should have known something was up. But when she told me to leave, I just wanted to give her the space she needed. I just wanted to show her I cared enough to give her what she wanted. I shouldn't have just walked away. I should have..."

"What?" Farkle interjected. "What were you going to do? Make her talk to you?"

"I could have, at one time."

Shawn stepped closer. "Lucas, she's been spiraling for a while. Even I've noticed it. Admittedly I didn't realize it had gotten that bad, but she was hiding it from everyone. Well, everyone except Maya."

"Thank God for Maya."

"For all the help I was." she said from the doorway.

"No." the elder said, authoritative. "Don't you dare. You were there for her when she pushed everyone away. You were her lifeline."

"Yeah, but if I'd told someone...Mister Matthews was right. I should have..."

"Stop!" he said, bringing the whole room to a hush. "Understand something. Cory is very upset right now. He's saying things that I guarantee you he doesn't mean. You have got to believe me. I've known him my entire life. He is scared to death right now and is lashing out. None of you in this room are responsible for any of what happened to Riley. It happened, we deal with it the best way we know how. None of you in here are going to do her any good if all you're doing is dwelling on how much it was your fault, when in reality, it was no one's fault. It was all circumstances. Everyone made bad choices, even her."

"You're blaming this on Riley?" Maya asked, incredulously.

"No! That's what I'm telling you! It's no one's fault! This isn't a situation where you can play the blame game, because everyone could claim they had more than the next person. You cannot do that here. All you would do in that instance is put more pressure on her. And you can't do that to her. Not right now. She's going to need all of you to be up to par. And you can't be, if you're too busy blaming yourself."

"Lucas, you need to go back there." Maya said, agreeing with Shawn.

He stared at her, stunned for a bit. "I can't."

"You need to go back there."

"Lucas."

He looked up at the only adult in the room.

"Go back there. She's going to need you when she wakes up. Even if she doesn't realize it yet."

Finally nodding, he stood. Swallowing hard, he looked at Maya before he left and hugged her close. "I'm sorry."

Not answering him, she hugged him back and stepped back. "She's in the fourth room on the left."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks for the follows/favorites!**

 **Guest: Thanks! I'm so glad you like! Hope I don't disappoint. Without further Ado...**

 **Side note: I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **LUCAS'S POV**

His eyes took her in and he couldn't breathe. In the light, he could see her clearly. She had lost at least fifteen pounds since he'd left. She looked so tired. Debating turning around and leaving, he stopped when he locked eyes with Topanga.

She waved him in. "Come on in, honey."

"I...I'm sorry. I was just going to..."

"It's okay. Come on. Talk to her."

Half laughing he shook his head. "I don't even know where to start." he said, barely above a whisper.

"That makes two of us." Cory said from the chair he was in, beside his daughter's bed. Shaking his head, his eyes misted over. "I'm sorry I blamed you in there. I wasn't thinking about anything except the fact that my little girl was laid up in a hospital bed. I knew something was going on, but as much as we tried, we couldn't get her to talk."

"I'm so sorry. It was only one time. I didn't know. I couldn't understand..."

"It's not your fault, Lucas. No one blames you."

He shook his head again. That was wrong. "She does. And I do."

"No. And I'm sure once she's up, she won't, so you shouldn't either."

A nurse appeared in the room to do a check on her vitals and to switch out her saline drip. "She's really dehydrated. But that's not uncommon with either the infection or the alcohol poisoning."

Once more, he wanted to be sick. His poor broken princess. Looking around, he realized he hadn't seen her parents leave, and had left him alone in there. He turned to look out the observation window and noticed them out there talking to each other.

Sitting down and taking her hand in his, he noticed how cold she was. She suddenly seemed so small. She had always been smaller than he was, that was how it was supposed to be. But now, she looked it. She looked so vulnerable in this moment.

He heard her breathe in and glanced up to see her brown eyes on him.

"Lucas?" she whispered softly.

Standing up, he bent over her. "Hey! There's my city girl."

She swallowed hard and closed her eyes in a long blink. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital."

Looking around, she finally decided he was telling the truth. "Why are you here?"

"I came to get you at a party. You ran out of the building."

"You were just a dream." she whispered, before closing her eyes and not opening them back up. "Tired of being mad at a dream." and her breathing evened out again.

Turning, he gestured to his old teacher. When the man rushed in, he took a deep breath. "She woke up. She's back asleep now, but do I need to tell the nurse?"

"I'll go get her. Did she say anything?"

"She asked where she was and why I was here."

"Alright, well thank you for letting us know. I'll let them know."

Reluctantly he let go of her hand. It was time to let someone else back here.

* * *

 **TOPANGA/MAYA'S POV**

The sun was up by the time she opened her eyes again. Groaning against the sudden intrusion of light in her eyes, she squeezed them shut and groaned. "Peaches." came out in a small voice.

"Riley?"

"Mom?" she responded, weakly.

"Hey, baby!" she said quietly, trying not to be too loud.

"What happened?" she asked, still trying to put together the events of the night before.

"You were at a party. They found alcohol in your system, but your levels were really high. You passed out, and they had to bring you here."

"For a few beers?"

"No. For the pelvic infection."

This was so confusing. "What infection?"

Letting her breath out through her nose, she hesitated before answering. "The one you got from the miscarriage."

The woman noticed the machines start to beep as her daughter's heart rate instantly increased. "Baby, calm down."

"Mom...I...I'm sorry. I couldn't...tell anyone. No one would understand. It wasn't on purpose. I didn't know..."

"Riley, calm down. It's okay."

"It's not okay. How did you even...who told you?"

"The doctors told your dad and I when we got here that the infection was so bad it was at risk of going into your bloodstream. They've got you on some major antibiotics right now. It's been going on since it happened, which what the doctor said, to the stage of the infection, was just after your blow out with Lucas."

"Maya..."

"I'll go get her. Your dad had to run and take care of Auggie for a little bit and get a change of clothes for the both of us."

Not stopping the tears that made their way slowly down her cheeks, she held her mom's hand for a few moments longer. "I'm so sorry."

Bending over to kiss her daughter on her forehead she reached her hand up and wiped away the tears with her thumb. "It's okay, baby. You're okay. You're going to be alright. That's what matters now. Alright?"

She nodded and rested back. Her mom disappeared and it was a few moments later when her best friend was there beside her. "Peaches!" she got out weakly, though excited just the same.

Smiling, she made her way into the room, and stood beside the bed. "Hey, Pumpkin."

"Guess I messed up good this time, huh?"

Looking down sympathetically, she shrugged. "What do I tell you when you mess up?"

Riley looked away, then back into her best friend's eyes. "That tomorrow is another day."

"That's right. And it's as true now as it was the first time I told you."

"But I've made so many mistakes." she replied, biting her lip.

"That's okay. You're going to keep making mistakes. And so will I."

Closing her eyes, she opened them to fresh tears. "I don't want to make any more mistakes, Peaches."

Not fighting it any more, she dropped the side rail and laid down beside her in the bed, wrapping her in her arms as she'd done so many times before. "Then don't."

"I'm tired." she whispered.

Maya knew she was talking about fighting. Tired of holding on. Tired of trying to be something she wasn't. "You scared me, Little Plant. Please don't ever do that again."

* * *

 **CORY/LUCAS'S POV**

She woke up once more when a nurse came in there a few hours later. Opening her eyes, she was met with a warm smile. "Daddy."

"Hey, baby."

Tears sprang to her eyes. "Daddy, I'm sorry."

"No, Riley. It's okay. Don't you worry about that. You're going to be alright. That's what matters."

That was exactly what her mom had said. "But..."

"No. No buts. Except yours. Out of this bed and back to school." then he swallowed hard.

Not stopping the tears that fell, she looked away. "I'm so sorry."

"Riley, I will always love you. No matter what. You are so amazing, and it kills me to think that you didn't know that, even for a split second."

It made her feel even worse. Turning back to her dad, she noticed a figure outside the window.

He noticed the color drain from her face.

"Why is he here?"

"He's been here since you were brought in."

Confusion knitted her brow. "I don't understand. He was just a dream."

"He's not a dream. He hasn't left since he rode with you in the ambulance."

"Why is he here?" she asked again.

Standing, he bent over and kissed her head. "You need to ask him, sweetheart. I'll be back in a little bit."

The look on her face was a mix between apprehension and terror. She couldn't talk to him, could she?

She watched her dad walk out the door, say something to the younger male, then walk away. Her heart rate jumped. She hadn't seen him in so long. Or had she? Had she just been that out of it?

Walking through the door, he stepped timidly into the room. "Hey, city girl. How are you feeling?"

"Lucas." she whispered.

"No. Please, don't cry." he said, making his way quickly to her bedside.

Swallowing hard, she turned away.

"Please." Sitting down in the seat, he was afraid to touch her.

He knew. She could see it in his gaze. Her worst fears were confirmed. He knew. He'd known she was pregnant. He'd known she lost the baby. He knew.

Turning toward him she curled up onto her side, as best as she could. Now she _really_ wanted to disappear. Refusing to meet his intent stare, her eyes closed in a long blink. "You weren't supposed to know."

"Why? Didn't you think I would _want_ to know?"

"You had Missy."

"No, Riley. I didn't. I had no idea you'd seen us. She kissed me. I didn't kiss her back. I pushed her away."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was trying to give you your space. You told me to leave. I didn't understand why. You wouldn't say anything except 'leave'. I didn't know you'd seen anything, and I couldn't understand why you were so angry. So I tried to give you what you wanted." then he hung his head and shook it sadly. "I wish you had told me. I would have never let you go through that alone. How did you do that by yourself?"

Finally looking into his eyes, she saw so much sincerity. She felt so guilty now and she had no idea how to even express her feelings on it.

She looked so completely alone. There were a million people that loved her, but she couldn't see one, himself included. He needed to change that.

Taking a deep breath, he wiped the tear from the corner of his own eye and reached out to her. "I love you, Riley."

Holding her breath, she closed her eyes, tucking her head further into her chest. "Well, you shouldn't." she said whispering.

She sounded so sad. "Why is that?" he asked, coming out in the soft question.

Not answering, she only shook her head. This was worse than he imagined. She wasn't just broken, she felt she was undeserving of anything. Though, if he was going to be honest, she'd been going through it for almost four months now, all alone. There was no wonder why she felt that way.

"Riley..." and he stopped when she made a little noise. "Riley?"

"I don't...feel...good." and as quickly as possible, she leaned over, dry heaving after the first initial burst of stomach acid, as there was nothing in her body to expel.

"Hang on. I'm getting you some help."

Not responding, she laid her arm over the edge of the bed as she continued to vomit air.

The nurse running in, she helped her onto her back, sat the back of her bed up, and gave her a small, kidney bean shaped, pink bucket. "Riley? When was the last time you ate?" she asked, trying to figure out what was going on.

Unable to catch her breath as she continued to heave, she couldn't answer.

"Riley?"

After finally settling back, her eyes closed and her body went lax.

"Riley? Come on now. I need you to answer me." and she grabbed her shoulder and shook her slightly.

Her eyes barely opening, she gave a small moan, in question.

"When did you eat last?"

Her lids closing, her head barely shook. "I don...I don't remember." she finally got out, barely audible.

"Honey, I need you to talk to me."

Her head turned and her eyes opened, toward the blond young man in the room.

"Riley?" he asked, trying to help the nurse get a response out of her.

"I'm so sorry." Swallowing hard, her lids closed once more, and alarms started yelling and screaming, leaving anyone within earshot, wondering what was going on.

* * *

 **Please...please review. Let me know what you guys think! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it took a while for this update...it's been crazy hectic on this end! Hopefully it wont go too long between chapters next time. The next few chapters may be a bit shorter than normal, but you'll understand why when you see the next one! Hope you guys are still enjoying and can't wait to see what you think of this update! I'm so happy with your reviews and I will try to get everyone without missing one! :)**

 **Bhenry: I'll take that into consideration. I'm glad you like it so far!**

 **Oasis: I'm so glad you're enjoying. It can be intense at moments. Here's your update.**

 **Kkuron: Thanks! This chapter wont end on such a cliff hanger this time! ;)**

 **Sand: You're only as young as you feel! Not stress...anticipation! :D**

 **Dauntless: Here you are!**

 **Kid: I know right!? I'm bad about that. LoL!**

 **Sanchez: That's a good point. I like that idea! Glad you like it so far!**

 **Alright guys, here is Chapter 5!**

 **Side note: I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **FARKLE'S POV**

When Topanga walked back through the door, it had been almost two hours, and they had expressed to both parents, that she was – as previously explained – very sick, and the infection was getting worse as it coursed through her veins. The antibiotics were working, but with anything, in most cases, it gets worse, before it gets better, this situation included.

She had a nasal cannula helping her get the oxygen she needed in her body, and she'd quit waking up when the nurses came in. They told her that she was being very closely monitored and that they needed to not be alarmed unless something else happened.

Staring at the the girl in the bed, she didn't hear the younger male walk into the room. Clearing his throat softly, Farkle stepped in. "Misses Matthews?"

Inhaling sharply, she sat straight up, swiping away at the moisture in her eyes.

"I...I'm sorry, Auggie is out in the waiting room and he wanted to see you. Mister Matthews is trying to calm him down, but he doesn't want to leave until you come out there and tell him that it's okay."

Nodding, she stood. "Thank...thank you, sweetie." then she looked at the frail figure laying there. "Will you sit with her until I get back? I'll let your dad know you're still back here."

He nodded, himself. "Of course." and he watched as she made her way out. He had been the only one that hadn't been in there at the time, mostly because he was afraid of what he would find. Blinking back the moisture behind his lids, he sat down, and cleared his throat.

"Listen, Riley, I don't know what happened. I wish you had talked to me, though. I can't imagine how hard this was for you. Or how hard it still is. But we're not letting you do this alone, any more. So you need to get better and get out of this hospital."

He had no idea if she even heard him or not, but he put it out there anyway. Not stopping himself, he took her hand. He wished she would just wake up. He wished she would simply open her eyes and be the same old Riley. But that girl was gone. And she would never be back.

No amount of hope would bring the old Riley back. Losing a part of yourself did things to people. He just hoped she could figure out a new normal that didn't include all of the sorrow, anger and isolation.

* * *

 **MAYA'S POV**

Pacing back and forth outside, she turned to see him staring at her. "Farkle? Oh, no. Please don't tell me something…"

Stepping closer, he shook his head.

Letting out a short burst of breath, she stepped closer, encircling her arms around him.

Holding her, he breathed in the apple scent of her shampoo, rocking her slightly. Running his fingers through her hair, he held her head to his shoulder.

"I needed some air."

"I understand." and he pushed her back, gently holding her shoulders. "How are you doing with all of this?"

Taking in his gaze, confusion knitted her brow. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

She shook her head. "I'm fine! I'm not the one laid up in a hospital. Why are you asking about me?"

Cupping her face lightly in his hands, he smiled tenderly. "Because, you've been carrying a heavy burden the last few months."

"I haven't carried anywhere near what she has."

"Maya." he said, getting her attention.

Biting her bottom lip to keep it from trembling, she broke. The first tear brimmed her bottom lid. "I don't know how to help her."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not." she said whispering. "I'm her best friend. I should be able to help her."

"You can't help what you don't know how to fix."

Hugging him close to her, she let loose the tears freely. "I feel like I failed."

"No." he whispered, still holding her. "You haven't failed anyone."

"I've failed everyone."

"No. Shawn is right. No one is to blame for this. We deal with things the best way we know how. You did what was right for her."

Pausing, she held her breath before continuing. "And look where that got us."

"You knew where to get her."

"It wasn't in time."

"It was. If you hadn't told us where to go, there's no telling how long she would have laid there, or what else could have happened to her while she was unconscious."

She bit her bottom lip again.

He sat there, holding her for the longest time. Giving her what strength he could, not realizing he was helping himself along the way, by helping her. "She's going to be alright, Maya."

"Do you believe that?" she asked, not looking up.

Nodding, he took a deep breath. "I do."

Letting out her breath, she was silent for a long moment. "Thank you for being here. I have no rights to ask you after everything that…"

"Shhhhh." he said softly. "It's what true friends do. And we're about as true as they come."

* * *

 **RILEY'S POV**

Her eyes opened again. Lucas. For some reason, she was glad he was there. She had no energy to formulate any thoughts at all.

"Hey, city girl."

Looking into his eyes, she blinked slowly, not verbally responding.

Reaching up, he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Searching her gaze, he let his breath out. Her breathing wasn't labored, but it was hard not to hear how difficult it seemed to be for her.

This was the third time she'd opened her eyes, but he wondered now if she was actually waking up or not. The nurse told him to just talk to her and that it was okay if she didn't have the energy to say anything back. But damn he didn't like it.

A small knock came to the door and he turned to see Maya.

"Hey." she whispered.

"Hey."

"How is she doing?"

Squeezing her hand, he shook his head. "I was about to suggest a book. Something she hasn't read yet." he said, remembering how much she loved to read.

Stepping closer, she looked into the eyes of her best friend. "Hey, Pumpkin." She had known better than to expect a response, but she still hoped. Bending in, she kissed her forehead and stood back straight.

Looking over at the kid sitting in the chair, she closed her eyes, blinking. Swallowing hard, she nibbled her bottom lip and gazed into her best friends eyes. "I'm worried about you, Riles. You're scaring me."

That had elicited a response of a tear, which made her feel even worse for mentioning it. Clearing her throat, she turned back to Lucas. "Reading is a good idea. I'll be back. I'm going to run down to the gift shop and I'll find one she'll be interested in." and she disappeared.

Reaching up again, he ran his fingers through her hair for the umpteenth time. Knowing he had her attention, he took a deep breath and let it out. He swallowed hard. "Lord, I wish you would talk to me." and he shook his head as his eyes misted over. "I should have tried to make you tell me what was wrong. Maya told me that I should have fought for you. She was right. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry you saw what Missy did, I'm sorry you misunderstood it, I'm sorry I didn't just tell you. I'm sorry I just left."

She didn't want him to be sorry. She didn't want him to be upset. She really just wanted to be alone. She was numb. It was easier to shut off her emotions than it was to try and understand what she was feeling. The pain had finally reached it's breaking point, and knowing that everyone knew...she couldn't face the shame that was going to come along with it if and when she ever came out of this.

So she retreated, emotionally. She figured since they say silence is golden, that she would be a golden child. If she could get them to stop asking, she could push it away. And if it was pushed away, it couldn't hurt her.

* * *

 **CORY/SHAWN'S POV**

"Mister Matthews?" the doctor popped her head in.

Looking up, he made his way toward her in the hallway. "Yes?"

"Sir, we need to discuss a few things about your daughter."

"Okay?"

"The antibiotics are working very well on the infection. But I've been noticing, she has become increasingly despondent. We're very worried it's going to turn into depression, or something far worse."

Trying to keep his emotions in check, he swallowed. "So...what do I do?"

"We're going to keep a very close eye on it. If she doesn't start talking soon, I'm going to recommend a specialist that can help her."

"Do...do you know why this is happening?"

"I don't. Only she can answer that question. And right now, it doesn't seem to me that she's much for answering. She's essentially retreating within herself. For whatever reason, she doesn't feel safe."

Didn't feel safe? How could she not feel safe? Nodding, in mock understanding, he turned, staring at her sleeping form through the window. "Thank you, Doctor Carthage. I...I'll let my wife know."

"Don't give up on her Mister Matthews. She's still in there. She just needs to get back to a safe place in her mind. I'm sure that doesn't make any sense right now, but trust me. She'll be okay. She just needs help."

Staring in at her, he didn't hear his best friend slide up beside him.

"What's wrong, Cor?"

Lost in his thoughts, his head shook back and forth for a moment. "She doesn't feel safe."

Following his gaze, he shifted his stance. "Is that what the doctor said?"

Nodding, he turned. "I need to go talk to Topanga. Can you...can you stay with her?"

Not hesitating, he made his way into the room. Pulling up a chair, he scooted close to the bed. Her lids lifted slowly. "Hey, kid. How are ya hanging in there?"

Staring was her only answer. If he was here, then absolutely everyone knew. They knew how stupid she'd been. They knew how much she had failed. They knew how weak she was.

What they didn't know, what no one knew, was how much she blamed herself for everything. From the pregnancy to running Lucas away, to losing the baby...especially losing the baby, and lastly for diving head first into a world that put her where she wanted to be. Numb from life. In a place where she could forget the past. Forget the present. Where there was no future. There was only euphoria.

Oh how she wanted to disappear. She saw Shawn shift.

"Don't forget that you're loved. Very much so. By a lot of people, myself included. We all just want you to get better."

But didn't he see? Didn't any of them see? She was never going to get better. She was never going to be okay. This would never go away.

* * *

 **Again as always - Reviews definitely welcome! Until next chapter...**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey everyone! Shortest chapter by far but bare with me, I've got something in the works that i hope you guys really like. As far as the next couple of sections, anything that starts with a dash (-) is Riley's thoughts. Onto r** **eviews.**

 **Sand: I hope you like it! :)**

 **Sanchez: Thanks! And I put one part in here just for you!**

 **Side note: I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **ZAY'S POV**

Standing up, he started pacing the room. He halted when his friend walked through the door. Letting his breath out, he stared. "Zay?"

Stepping up, he didn't pretend to be excited. "Hey, man. Heard you were in a bad way."

Shaking his head his eyes screamed for help.

Stepping closer, he watched as his friend continued to pace. "What's going on?"

"She...she got pregnant."

"What? When?"

He stared at his friend.

Realization hit him. He remembered that night. Neither had planned on anything happening, though when his best friend had called him, telling him what had happened, he had listened, letting him get it out. The multitude of emotions that surrounded it was enough to make someone jealous. There had been so much love and conviction in his best friend's voice. Absolute devotion. Straightening, he tilted his head slightly. "Is that why she told you to leave?"

Shaking his head, there was a great bit of frustration in his gaze. "I guess she was coming to tell me when she saw Missy kiss me."

"What?"

He nodded. "Of course, I pushed her away, but Riley saw us and got the wrong idea."

"So you left."

He nodded again. "I didn't know she'd seen us. I didn't know anything, I just wanted to let her have some space. I should have asked why, but...I've never been one to deny her anything she wanted. Even if it hurts me."

"So then, what happened? Is she still pregnant?"

This time, he shook his head back and forth to his darker skinned friend. Looking up, trying to keep his eyes from misting, he blinked quickly. "She lost the baby. A couple of weeks after it all happened. She had a miscarriage."

"That explains why she just quit talking to everyone."

"What about you?" they both heard a voice from the side of them.

Turning, Zay made eye contact with his friend from long ago. Shaking his head, he shrugged. "I was never a part of the original group. I didn't have any rights to try to stay when I didn't even know if I was wanted."

"Why wouldn't we want you?" Farkle asked, without sounding angry.

He shrugged. "I told you. I wasn't a part of the original group like you were. And then when the girls and everyone parted ways, I didn't know where to go. Lucas was gone, you're one of the brilliant minds...I didn't know where I fit in, if anywhere at all."

"You belong here. Just like we all do. Regardless of what's going on. We're friends. Friends are supposed to stay together no matter what happens. So we can band together and fight for the weak one of us. So we are always there. We all screwed up, but it's time for us to all band together for the one of us who needs it most."

"All of us." Maya voiced from behind Farkle.

"So now, what do we do?"

* * *

 **RILEY'S POV**

"Riley?"

\- Who are you and what do you want now?

"Riley, I'm doctor Stevens. How are you doing this morning?"

\- I'm shutting my brain off, that's how I'm doing.

Silence. "I've noticed you're not one for conversation."

\- There's a reason for that.

"I really think I can help you."

\- I doubt it.

Studying her, there was more silence. "I'm sure you're thinking I'm wasting my time."

\- Because you are.

"But I think that you're still in there. And that old you is trying really hard to make her way out. The you that wants to spend time with her friends. The old you that wants the old group back together. The version of you that wants life to be what it was before you lost the baby."

\- Shut up. You don't know what you're talking about. I don't want the group back. I want my baby back.

Nodding, she blinked a long blink. "That hit home, didn't it?"

\- No.

"You're crying."

\- I am not! Dammit. I am. I hate my body.

"It's okay."

\- You're wrong.

Taking a deep breath in, she stood. "That's enough for today, Riley. I'll send your dad back in and I'll check in on you tomorrow. Alright?"

\- Leave me alone. I don't want you to come back tomorrow.

Making her way out of the room and down the hall, she caught the girl's father. "Mister Matthews?"

"Yes." and he realized it was the therapist. "That was quick."

"Well, today was more of a feel each other out, first meeting."

"And?"

"She's not completely gone, which is definitely a good thing."

"What does that mean?"

"I was able to get a response out of her."

His face lit up. "Really?"

Smiling sadly, she nodded. "She's crying."

"You made her cry?" he asked, incredulously.

"I got a reaction out of her." she corrected. "This is going to take time, but it's very promising. I know that doesn't make sense to you right now. But you have to trust me. Can you do that?"

Studying her, he finally nodded. He didn't like it, but he nodded.

* * *

 **THERAPIST'S POV**

Making her way into the room, she saw all of the people waiting. "Thank you all for sitting down and talking to me. What Riley's got going on isn't new. However, what I'm wanting to do is slightly unorthodoxed. It's not something I do often, but I do have a very high success rate, as long as everyone is going to be up to it."

Swallowing hard, Lucas cleared her throat. "Up to what?"

"I want you all, one at a time, to come in there with me and sit with her for a session. I think it will bring her around if I am in there. I was able to get a reaction out of her today which is good, because it means she hasn't completely retreated."

"Retreated?" Topanga asked, for clarification.

"Mentally. This is what I meant to explain to you before, but your husband said you were with your son. And it may even help to bring him in on one of our sessions, though I understand if you prefer not. As I explained to him, I got a reaction out of her, but if we don't bring her around soon, it will only get worse. She's still in there, misses Matthews. She just needs to feel safe enough to come out."

"How do we fix it? I'll do whatever you need me to do." Cory said.

"Well good. Because what I'm proposing is, as I stated, out of the norm a little."

"How out of the norm?"

"Well like I said, I don't do it often. But I've had a very high success rate. What I'm looking for is some sort of reaction. Tears, anger, frustration, a grin, a smile...anything." and she studied everyone's faces. "I know that this is a lot to take in. I understand if you don't want…"

"I'll do it." Lucas stood up.

"What?" Maya asked.

"I'll go in there with her. With the Matthews's permission." and he shrugged as everyone gave him a questioning gaze. "Guys, what did we just talk about? Coming together. This is our chance. If this could really help her, we need to do it. This is about her, not any of us." then he turned back to Cory. "I'll do it."

Staring at the young man, he could tell now, that he truly did care for his daughter. No matter what had happened. He really did love her. Studying him carefully, he finally nodded. "Do it. And I will too."

"So will I." Maya stepped up.

"Me too!" Farkle stepped in.

One by one, they all agreed to step up and do whatever the doctor asked of them.

"Good." she said, hopeful. "We'll start tomorrow."

* * *

 **PLEASE REVIEW**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Lay out is a little bit different. Instead of points of view, we're doing days. You'll see what I mean. Reviews:**

 **Sand: Here you go. Lucas is the first one up. :)**

 **Dauntless: I'm so glad you're enjoying it. Here's the new chapter!**

 **As always...** **I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **DAY ONE**

"Good morning, Riley."

\- Please just go away.

"Riley, I wanted to try something different this morning." and she watched as her expression remained unfocused and empty. "This morning we're going to have someone sit in with us."

\- Who cares?

"I know you're aware your friends are all here."

\- Unfortunately. Everyone knows.

Lifting up her hand, she waved the person in.

\- Just go away.

"Riley, I want Lucas to sit in with us today. Is that alright?"

\- No! No it's not alright! I don't want him in here!

Nodding, she gestured toward the young man. "Go ahead and have a seat."

Clearing his throat, he nodded, sitting in the empty chair.

"Why don't we start by you telling me how you know Riley."

Nodding, he began. "Well, I first met her in middle school, when I moved up here from Texas. I guess I knew I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her."

\- Please stop.

Nodding herself now, the doctor wrote something on her clipboard. "Good. And tell me a little bit about your relationship with Riley."

Taking a deep breath, he stared into her eyes. "We tried dating in middle school but there was too much pressure. So we put it on the backburner, neither of us really searching out a relationship with anyone else. In high school we wound up giving in and started putting labels on our relationship."

"Uh huh. And tell me about when you left."

\- Shut up. This is none of your business!

His eyes shot up to the monitor beeping.

Doctor Stevens leaned forward and put her hand on his knee. "It's okay. She's just reacting."

"But…"

"Mister Friar…" and she made eye contact. "She's alright. This is actually good. It means she's listening."

Holding himself back, he let his breath out. "I just don't want to hurt her any more than she has been." he whispered softly.

"We're not trying to hurt her. We're trying to bring her back. Now, can you tell me about when you left?"

"Well I didn't know it at the time, but she was pregnant…"

"I don't mean to cut you short, but I want to hear it from your point of view. From your perspective. How did you feel?"

Staring himself, his gaze became slightly blank as he remembered that day. "I had just come around the corner when I saw her. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't get her to tell me…"

" _Riles, please. Just tell me what's going on!"_

" _It doesn't even matter."_

 _Her eyes were almost feral as she stared at him, anger lacing her expression, as well as a hurt that went to her very soul. "What's going on?"_

" _Leave, Lucas."_

" _But Riley…" he noticed a crowd starting to gather._

" _Don't 'Riley' me! I told you to leave! I mean it! Go!"_

" _Where is this coming from?"_

" _It's coming from me, wanting you to leave!"_

" _But, I love you!"_

 _Anguish taking over her features, she stepped forward and slapped him with every bit of energy in her body. "Leave!" she screamed._

Looking back in the doctor's eyes, he realized his own were misty. "I left." and he shrugged. "I didn't know what else to do and she'd slapped me in front of everyone…"

"So you were embarrassed."

Nodding, he admitted, "Yeah, maybe a little, but I was more hurt than anything. Hurt and confused."

"One more question. What would you have done, if she'd told you then that she was pregnant, instead of telling you to leave?"

Swallowing hard, he held back again. "I...I uh…" his voice was breaking. Sitting up straight, he looked back at his former girlfriend. "I would have stepped up and took care of her. I love her. She's my everything. The baby would have been too."

Looking over at the girl in the bed, she noticed her blink, and a single tear drip from the bridge of her nose, onto the bed. "There she is." and then looked back at the younger male. "That's all for now, Lucas. Thank you." and the woman stood. Stepping closer, she put her hand on the girls. "Riley, I'll see you tomorrow."

\- Please don't come back.

* * *

 **DAY TWO**

"Good Morning, Riley."

\- Go away.

"Don't worry, Lucas isn't joining us this time."

\- Good!

"Maya is."

\- Whatever.

Gesturing toward the seat, much as she'd done the day before, she asked her to sit down. "Maya, how are you today?"

"I'm alright." she answered carefully.

"Just relax."

Letting her breath out, she nodded her head.

"Good. Now, I want you to tell me, how long have you known Riley?"

Shrugging, she shook her head. "As far back as I can remember."

"So you're pretty good friends?"

"Best friends." and she looked at her other half. "Aren't we, Little Plant?"

Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked "Why do you call her Little Plant?"

Thinking about it, she shrugged. "I don't know, really. I guess because she's growing, constantly. Learning constantly. I take care of her."

"You really love her, don't you."

"Of course I do. She's my sister."

Leaning forward a bit, she got the girls direct attention again. "This is going to be a little tough, but Maya, I want you to take me back to the day Riley lost the baby."

\- No! Leave her alone! Why are you doing this?

Blinking slowly, she put on her best brave face, but couldn't stop the shaking in her hands. "Um...she hadn't been feeling good that morning. She wouldn't tell me why. But I could tell. I could almost feel it."

 _Riley lifted her hand._

" _Yes, Miss Matthews?"_

" _May I please use the restroom? I'm not feeling very well all of a sudden."_

" _Of course." the teacher responded, noticing how pasty she looked and that she was breaking out in a cold sweat._

 _She stood up and started that way. Maya instantly rose her hand._

 _Nodding without looking up, she waved toward the door. "Go on, Miss Hart. Take care of your friend."_

 _Not hesitating, she stood quickly. Making her way down the hall, she was surprised that her best friend had been in the bathroom already. She could hear crying coming from the stall. "Riley?"_

" _It hurts so bad, Maya."_

" _What hurts?" and she waited. "Riley? What hurts?"_

 _There was silence._

" _Talk to me, Riles."_

" _I think I'm having a miscarriage."_

" _What?" she paced the bathroom floor._

" _There's a lot of blood."_

" _I didn't even know you were pregnant! Is that why you were so upset when you saw Lucas and Missy?"_

 _The toilet flushed and she opened the door._

 _Rushing in to hug her, she worried instantly when she noticed her skin was even whiter, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked so weak. "Riley, you need to see a doctor."_

" _No. I just need to go home."_

" _Are you sure? I really don't like this."_

" _Just take me home, please."_

"It was the next day when she woke up, still in my bed. Thankfully she hadn't lost any more blood, but she was still weak. She needed something for the pain, so I gave her one of my mom's pain pills she had from a surgery over a year before. About a week later she was late getting home and I went to look for her when her parents called me. That was when I found her with a guy named Benny. Really sketchy looking guy. It hit me that I'd seen him on the subway in the rough part of town. I saw her take a small flask from the guy and saw her swallow whatever it was in the container. That was the first time she 'disappeared'. After that, it quickly turned into a daily occurrence."

"And how did you feel about all of that?"

"I was scared. She's my best friend. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. I could always fix everything. I'm Maya. I'm Peaches. But…" and she shook her head sadly. "...but I couldn't fix this."

"How about now?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just want my friend back." and she swiped at the tear rolling down her face.

\- Damn you! Why won't you just leave her alone?

The woman looked down and saw the tears rolling down Riley's face. This was the most reaction she'd ever gotten out of the girl. "I know you're in there, Riley. All you have to do is say stop."

\- Leave me alone.

Her eyes closed and they didn't open. "Not today?"

\- Just go away, lady.

Nodding, she stood. "That's enough for today. Thank you, Maya, for joining us. Riley, until tomorrow.

* * *

 **PLEASE...PLEASE REVIEW! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks for hanging on, this story is coming to a close soon. I am so grateful you guys have hung on as long as you have and love all of the reviews/follows/favs! Reviews:**

 **Ghost: Thanks! Glad you're enjoying! :)**

 **Mystery: I'm so glad you like! Hope the next one doesn't disappoint!**

 **Without further ado...** **I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **DAY THREE**

"Good Morning, Riley."

\- Right on cue. I hate you.

"How are you this morning?"

\- GO...AWAY

"Riley, this morning is going to be a little bit different."

\- Just go away.

"This morning, I've asked both your mom and your dad to come in here."

\- What does it matter now? I fail to see how this is going to fix anything.

"Folks, come on in, have a seat. Tell me a little bit about yourselves."

"Well," Cory started. "I'm Cory. This is Topanga. We are the parents of our amazing little boy, Auggie and our incredible daughter, Riley."

Thoughtful, she nodded. "And please...tell me. What is it that makes Riley 'incredible'?"

\- Seriously, lady? Leave my parents alone! I'm no more incredible than a rock.

Clearing her throat, her mother's voice floated through the room. "She's incredible in so many ways, I don't even know where to start. She's smart, she never gives up, she's loyal…" and her voice cracked as she paused. "She's my little girl."

Tears started to flow down her face. She could see how hard it was for her dad to watch this.

Clearing his throat, this time, the man started. "She's an amazing sister to her little brother. She's adored by her uncles and aunt, she's loved so much by all of her grandparents, there isn't a single person she meets that doesn't just instantly fall in love with her."

More tears streamed.

"Why don't you tell me about the last few months? Topanga, let's start with you."

She took a deep breath and started. "The last few months have been a...struggle. We had no idea why, and she wasn't talking to anyone but Maya. But we were very grateful she at least had her. We probably relied on her too often."

" _Hi, Maya."_

 _She sighed. "Hey. Is she missing again?"_

 _Closing her eyes, she sighed herself. "I'm sorry."_

" _No, don't be. It's alright."_

 _It wasn't alright. This had been the third time she had not come home or answered her phone. It was becoming a habit that she would stay at Maya's and offer up absolutely no explanation as to where she'd been and why she had gone missing._

 _They had yelled, grounded her, taken her phone away, all of it. And nothing changed. She was just so...sad inside. She knew she was trying to get over breaking up with Lucas, but there had been something else going on._

" _Maya, what's going on with her?"_

 _Hesitating, she finally sat. "I don't know."_

" _Where have you been finding her?"_

" _Various places, really. The first night she was in a little restaurant on the East side, and the last time she was walking down the road not far from me."_

 _Trying to keep the worry from her voice, she cleared her throat. "Well I'm very glad she has you. Thank you again."_

" _No problem. I will text you when I find her."_

" _Thank you, sweetheart. Talk to you soon."_

"She was one of the only constants that she would allow herself to have."

She nodded. "And you, Cory?"

Staring into his daughter's beautiful eyes, he swallowed.

" _Riley, what's going on with you? Do I need to take you to be seen again?"_

 _She looked at him and her eyes seemed almost...empty._

" _What's happened to you, baby?"_

" _Nothing. I've got to get ready for school."_

" _What about last night? Where were you last night?"_

" _I was with friends."_

" _Do I know these friends?"_

" _No. It's fine! I'll just...I'll be back for dinner tonight."_

" _That's what you said last night."_

" _Daddy I can't! Okay I just...I just can't."_

" _Can't what?"_

 _Closing her eyes and looking away, she zipped up her backpack, hefted it over her shoulder and made her way out the door._

"I just miss my little girl. Nothing else matters. I love her so much, there is nothing she could ever do, to make me or her mother, love her any less." and he held back a tear threatening to drop. "I miss you, baby." and he reached out and grabbed her hand.

\- I don't know why you care so much. I'm not worth the fight.

Studying her reaction, she nodded her head toward both parents. "I think that's enough for today." then she stood. Once they were out of the room, the woman turned. "Riley, I'll..."

\- See me tomorrow. I get it. I really wish you would just leave me alone.

* * *

 **DAY FOUR**

"Good morning, Riley."

\- Whatever.

"Riley, this morning, I pulled some strings, and I'm bringing Auggie in here."

"No!" she said, her voice strained but forceful. It sounded strange, even to herself.

"But I've already got your parents permission, and they're bringing him back any sec…"

"I said no! Leave Auggie alone. Leave _me_ alone."

"I can't do that. I've been hired specifically to…"

"I don't care what you've been hired for."

Smiling internally, she leaned forward. "You seem angry."

"Angry? I seem angry? Lady, you don't know the first thing about me to assume that I seem angry."

"And yet, you continue to prove my point."

"I wish you would just go away."

"You don't want to get better, do you?"

She stared, as a tear dripped down her cheek. "I don't want to talk about this."

"You may not want to, but you need to."

"Screw you, lady. You don't know what I need."

"On the contrary, you'll find I'm more aware than you think."

"Whatever."

"And my name is Doctor Stevens, as I've told you before, though I wasn't sure you were listening. Not lady." and she stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow." and she made her way out the door.

Smiling, she met Cory in the hallway once again. "I was just on my way…"

"There is no need."

"Why? What's wrong? What happened?"

Holding her hand up, she took a deep breath. "Easy, Mister Matthews. Nothing bad has happened. This is a process. But I made her angry enough with the thought of your son being interviewed by me, that she talked to me."

Studying her, he held his son back. "I'm not really sure I'm okay with you continuously making her mad just to get a reaction out of her."

"Mister Matthews, please understand, anger is one of the rawest emotions in the spectrum. It is the one emotion that will prompt the most honesty and the one that will give her a purpose to keep going. Trust me on this, like you did the last time. I'll bring her back."

Not liking it, but not disagreeing, he nodded. "I just don't want her to hurt any more."

"Trust me, there's nothing I can say or do to her that she hasn't already done or said to herself. This is okay. This is good."

Not arguing, he turned and then stopped. Auggie had been the only one who hadn't been in to see his sister. They'd kept him from it because they felt it wouldn't be good for her. Looking at his son, he patted his back. "Come on, Augs. Let's go see your sister." and he made his way toward her room.

* * *

She was laying on her side when he saw her. Her eyes were closed until she felt a small hand in hers.

"Riley?"

Staring, a tear trailed slowly down the bridge of her nose. "Auggie?"

Sitting down, he squeezed her hand, not saying anything.

"I'm so sorry. I've been such a bad sister."

"No. Don't you ever say that again. Just because you've been going through some stuff doesn't mean you've been a bad sister."

"But I haven't been around."

He shrugged. In his simple logic, it wasn't even an issue. "You've been dealing with some stuff. I may be young, but I'm not stupid. I know you're not taking care of yourself. I just want you to be around for a long time."

More tears fell. She never thought her brother to be stupid. Ever. And she felt like she'd neglected her sisterly duties, and felt even worse that she hadn't thought about any of that while she'd been busy disappearing.

Leaning closer, he kissed her forehead. "Please get better, Riley. I need you."

Something changed in her. Something broke in that one moment. She looked at her little brother and made a decision right then and there that she was going to do whatever it took to get back to some type of good, if for no other reason than him. It wasn't going to be easy, but she was going to do whatever it took.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a slow update, I've had a lot going on around here, but I haven't stopped working! :) I'm glad people are enjoying this! Hoping to update sooner with the next chapter! Onto Reviews...**

 **Sanchez: I will DEFINITELY write more. I'm actually in the workings for another GMW fic as we speak!**

 **Ghost: Thank you, thank you! Glad you like!**

 **Arabella: Yes ma'am. Glad you're enjoying!**

 **Dauntless: You make me giggle. LoL! :)**

 **Without further ado...** **I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **DAY FIVE**

"Good Morning, Riley. You're looking rather well today."

She didn't pretend to plaster on a smile.

"Back to not talking?"

"No. Just not going to pretend that everything is okay."

"Oh, I'm very well aware that everything is _far_ from okay."

"Good. As long as that's understood."

"You don't like me, do you, Riley?"

She didn't answer her.

"I'll take that as a no. I'm okay with that. You don't have to like me. You just have to trust me. Trust that I can get you back to normal."

"I'll never be normal."

"No, probably not like you were. And that makes you sad, doesn't it?"

She didn't answer.

"It's okay to admit that, you know."

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway."

"I can't make you get better, Riley. Only you can do that. It matters. How you feel matters. What everyone else feels, matters. The sooner you realize that, the easier it's going to be for you to recover."

"Recover. You talk as though I'm coming out of a coma or something."

"Well in essence, you are. You shut down for almost a week. Why do you think there's an IV in your arm or the fact that you're on a strict liquid only diet. What would you call it?"

"I don't want to talk about this."

"And that's the problem. By keeping it in, you're not only hurting yourself, but those around you who care about you."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"But I do. That's why I'm a highly recommended doctor."

"Alright then...doctor." she spouted the last word indignantly. "Tell me. Since you know so much. How do I feel?"

"Ah, I said I know what I'm talking about. I am not however a mind reader. I can't tell you how you feel. Only you can. Even if I have an idea."

"So then...tell me your idea."

Shaking her head, she smiled. "That's not how I work. I can see you're going to be a tough one. How about we try again tomorrow."

Shrugging, she looked away. "Whatever." she said softly.

"Trust me, Riley. I'm going to pull you out of there. I have zero doubts in my ability."

"Whatever." she repeated, finally, before closing her eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Matthews."

* * *

 **DAY SIX**

"Good morning, Riley."

Opening her eyes, she closed them again.

"You feeling alright?"

"I'm just tired. I don't feel like talking today."

Sitting, she studied the girl. "I'm not letting you give up, Miss Matthews."

She simply shrugged.

"What's got you so tired this morning?"

"I didn't sleep well last night I guess."

"No, it's something else. You're not wanting to talk because you've been up thinking about things all night. Haven't you?"

"Not a mind reader, huh?"

"Oh it's quite true that I'm not a mind reader. I just, as previously stated, am very good at my job."

"That's right. You were telling me yesterday how I feel. Isn't that about where we left off?"

She smiled. The sarcasm was a defense mechanism that she was all too familiar with, because of her previous patients. "No. You were telling me how you feel."

Closing her eyes, she looked away, not answering.

"How about I bring one of your friends back in here to talk? Maya? Maybe Lucas?"

"Leave them alone." She whispered softly.

"I know you don't want to talk about this, but the longer you keep it in, the worse it's going to be on you, and everyone around you."

"Well maybe I don't believe you."

"And that's where we have a problem. I told you, I was good at my job. But if you don't trust me enough to help you, then I can't be effective."

"Maybe I'm just too screwed up to help."

"Is that what you think? That you're too messed up to be helped?"

She shrugged.

"I don't believe that. Is that what you're worried about?"

Not answering at all this time, she just let her breath out through her nose.

"Let me ask you a question, Riley. Do you believe you're worth the fight?"

Looking up at the woman this time, she stared.

"There's the real you." She murmured softly. "That's the root of the problem right there. You don't believe you deserve to get better."

The woman was getting close. Too close. But damn if she could stop it at this point. She didn't have to talk about it if the doctor already knew everything. Biting her lip, she hated the first drop that fell.

"Every person in this world can love you, but if you can't love yourself, then it doesn't matter, does it?"

Sniffling, she looked down at her hands.

"Riley, when did you lose faith in yourself? Why don't you feel like you're worthy of love?"

 _Standing there in awe, she realized she was shaking. The blood had completely drained from her face and she'd had to sit down. Staring at the little pink line, she blinked a couple of times and didn't know how long she sat there._

 _Glad that she had decided to do this at school, she quickly threw it away after wrapping it in toilet paper and stood up. She had so many mixed emotions. She was going to be a mom. Lucas, was going to be a dad._

 _Soon, this tiny little form was going to be needing them. They were going to be a family. Knowing it was going to be class change soon, she set off in search for Lucas. He needed to know. And she couldn't wait to tell him._

 _And then she saw it. The one thing that could destroy her entire existence. Missy and Lucas. Her stomach clenched. Sitting for a second, she caught her breath, just as the bell rang and people started filing out of the rooms._

 _He smiled. "Riley!" And then his smile fell. "Riley?"_

 _Anger was so prevalent. "We're through."_

" _What?" He asked, completely confused._

" _I said, we're through. Leave."_

" _What's going on?"_

 _The sheer rage was rolling off of her in waves._

" _Riles, please. Just tell me what's going on!"_

" _It doesn't even matter."_

 _Her eyes were almost feral as she stared at him, malice lacing her expression, as well as a hurt that went to her very soul. "What's going on?"_

" _Leave, Lucas."_

" _But, Riley…" he noticed a crowd starting to gather._

" _Don't 'Riley' me! I told you to leave! I mean it! Go!"_

" _Where is this coming from?"_

" _It's coming from me, wanting you to leave!"_

" _But I love you!"_

 _Anguish taking over her features, she stepped forward and slapped him with every bit of energy in her body. "Leave!" she screamed._

Blinking tears as she went over that moment, she continued staring at the blank space on the bed, barely breathing.

"What are you thinking?"

"It was all my fault."

"What was your fault?"

Inhaling sharply, she blinked once more. "Everything." She finally whispered.

"Riley?"

But the girl didn't look at her. She just kept staring. Then surprising even herself, she reached out and grabbed the girl's hand. "Riley, you're going to be okay." And she looked at the girl's distraught features. "Hey. Look at me, Miss Matthews."

Finally breaking out of her trance, her eyes moved toward the older woman's gaze.

"You are worth fighting for. Even if you don't know that right now. Those that love you do. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."

Blinking back more tears, she shrugged and answered back with her standby. "Whatever." she said softly.

"I do find it interesting that you refuse to see anyone except your little brother and your mom and dad. Do you think the other's don't want to see you? Do you know how bad it's bothering them that you're not letting them in?" And she stood. "I know you love them. Otherwise you wouldn't be so adamant about me leaving them alone. I'll see you tomorrow, Riley."


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey everyone! Two more chapters left! Thank you all so much, for hanging on! This is the longest chapter yet, so I hope I do right by everyone with it! :) Reviews:**

 **Sand: We're definitely making progress! :)**

 **Ghost: Thanks!**

 **Skaidrew: Thank you! :) I definitely appreciate it! I am very glad you are enjoying.**

 **Guest: (I'm not sure why your review isn't showing up in my actual reviews yet, but I did get the notification so I'll work off of that.) Very well stated. I think the doctor is going to make some progress. Lets see what we get. :)**

 **As always...** **I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **DAY SEVEN**

"Good morning, Riley."

She moaned softly, mumbling an incoherent response.

"Wow! I elicited a groan this morning. That's enough for me today."

Not really responding to the woman's sarcasm, she shrugged.

"Eh. There's obviously a reason I'm a doctor and not a comedian." And she sat down in the chair. "How are you this morning, Riley?"

"Fine."

"Yeah, I'm completely convinced now."

"Whatever."

"You were doing pretty good yesterday. What's changed?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

Nodding her head, she leaned forward. "What changed?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Ah. We're back to that again."

"Back nothing. We never left."

"Alright then. Take me back to the days after Lucas left."

"Please...I don't want to talk about it."

She watched a tear trail down the girl's pale features. "I understand. But you need to. You can't heal until you deal with your feelings about all of it."

"I don't want to talk about this."

"I know you hate me right now. And you're going to hate me tomorrow. But eventually you will know that this is for your own good and you will be glad I made you talk about it. And further more, eventually you will know, that it isn't your fault."

 _Looking at the screen in front of her, she was glad she was in bed and her mom had kissed her goodnight._

 _She was going to have to tell her parents eventually. She wouldn't do it right away though. She couldn't be that far along, it had only happened six weeks before. According to this, most women didn't show until at least ten to twelve weeks along and even then it was just a bump._

 _She read the large letters on the site she was reading explaining that stress was one of the worst things on an expectant mother. And with what she'd been through lately, she wasn't sure what to label it but she was pretty sure it fit into the stressed category._

 _So it didn't really surprise her the next morning when she was in class and started cramping badly. It was almost as if she already knew what was happening, before it happened._

 _Running to the bathroom, she knew Maya would follow. She hated keeping her best friend in the dark like that, but she hadn't been ready to tell anyone except Lucas, and he wasn't about to want a baby. He had Missy._

 _There was no point to involve anyone else. But she knew when the blonde made her way in, she was going to have to tell her._

 _The next morning, She saw sorrow in her eyes. She couldn't take the sorrow. She needed to get away for a little while. Needed to escape. Standing from where she'd been sitting, she turned after taking the small pill. "I need to get back home."_

" _Alright. I called your parents and told them last night that you were staying over, and that you didn't feel good."_

 _She didn't remember a lot about after getting to Maya's. "Thanks." And she grabbed her bag. "I'll call you later."_

 _Maya nodded. "See that you do, Little Plant."_

 _Turning before heading out the door, she stopped. "Promise you won't tell anyone?"_

 _Nodding once more, she held up three fingers. "Scouts honor. Not a word will be spoken about any of it."_

" _Thank you, Peaches."_

" _Anything for you."_

"That's where you're wrong...doctor. You will never make me believe it wasn't my fault."

"And why is that?"

A tear trailed down her face. "I slapped Lucas and told him to leave. I kept it to myself. I stressed out enough that I lost the baby. And I'm the one that closed myself off from everyone and ran away. I'm the one who started drinking." She whispered the last part. "Please...tell me how this isn't my fault?"

"Oh don't misunderstand me, I didn't say you were completely without fault. But I'm betting hormones had to do with you slapping Lucas and telling him to leave, and there are a million reasons a woman has a miscarriage. It may have been stress, it also may have been because of something going wrong with the process, it may have been due to a chemical imbalance. It could have been because the egg wouldn't attach to the uterine walls. There are a lot of things that could have caused it _especially_ in the first trimester. You have no idea that it was because of stress. Now yes, the closing yourself off and drinking was all you, but I also know that this type of behavior is indicative of a self preservation mode. Sort of a fight or flight response. And since you couldn't really run anywhere, you retreated into yourself and a bottle. Am I right?"

Not looking up, she barely moved her head up and down.

"So you see? Not _all_ your fault." And she studied her. "I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Matthews. Try to see someone other than your immediate family. I know it's not easy, but don't take your friends need to help you, away from them."

* * *

 **DAY EIGHT**

"Good morning, Riley."

"Doctor." she responded, disgruntled.

"Wow! I got a coherent response from you? How did I get so lucky?"

"You're going to make me talk anyway."

"You didn't let anyone back here yesterday after I left. Why is that?"

She shrugged. "I'm not ready yet."

"So you're going to go the selfish rout and keep everyone at arm's length?"

"I'm just not ready." She whispered softly.

"I disagree. If you want, I can be in here if you want to visit? We can talk about things and get things out in the open."

Looking down, she shook her head.

"Riley, you need to let them in." then she studied her. "You're worried they're going to look at you different now."

She shrugged. "They already look at me different."

"How do you know that?"

"I can see it all over their faces. They all...pity me." And the corners of her lips turned down even more. "It's hard to see it. It makes me want to just…"

"Disappear again?"

"I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me."

"Let me ask you something. If the rolls were reversed and it was Maya, would you pity her?"

"No." she spouted irritated. "I'd be scared for her, probably a little worried, but I damn sure wouldn't pity her."

"So why is it you're so sure that they pity you? Or even just Maya?"

"They all think they're guilty of some part of it. Those first couple of days, all anyone talked about was how sorry they were. As if they had anything to do with any of it."

"Does it make you mad that they feel responsible?"

"They don't need to feel anything."

"You don't like them taking the ball out of your lap do you?"

"It's no one else's fault."

"Why are you so intent on keeping the blame on yourself?"

"Because. It's no one else's fault." She repeated.

Doctor Stevens looked at the girl's hands. She was shaking. "Tell me about the first time you disappeared?"

Taking a deep breath, she glared at the older woman. "Why?"

"Why not?" And she tilted her head at the girl. "Because that's your secret place, isn't it, Riley? That's where you go, to escape the world."

The monitor beside the bed started beeping wildly. She didn't want to talk about this. That was her place. It was hers! How dare this woman try to take that from her? Looking away, she closed her eyes for a moment.

" _Hey, girl! You looking for a good time?"_

 _Arms wrapped around herself, she looked up at the guy making his way to her. What on Earth had brought her to this side of the tracks...so to speak? He was thin, with a beanie on his head, a black t-shirt with a leather jacket on over jeans that fit and black combat boots. "What?"_

" _What's eatin ya, sweetie? You look like you're having a hard time."_

 _She shrugged. Why was she even_ talking _to this guy? "I just need to get away for a little while. Get out of my head."_

" _I've got just the stuff."_

" _I don't want drugs." she muttered before turning and starting to walk away._

" _No drugs? Alright then." and he took a step closer as she turned back toward him. "I've got just the thing for you." he said, smiling as he handed her a small flask._

 _Touching the mouth of it to her lips, she took a small drink, coughing as the liquid made its way roughly down her throat. It burned all the way down._

 _Laughing, the guy patted her on the back. "You alright there, Half Pint?"_

" _Don't call me Half Pint." She spouted, remembering how she hated it when people called her that before hand. That was before she hit her last growth spurt. Now, she was taller than most people, even though she was still little._

" _Aight then, Little Bit. Don't get ya panties in a bunch. I didn't mean nothin by it. I just figured you'd appreciate that a tad more than 'Hey, Girl!' But I can stop."_

 _Shaking her head, irritated, she shrugged and took another drink. "Little Bit's fine, I just don't like Half Pint."_

 _Grinning, he nodded. "Aight then. You can finish that flask, I've got plenty more where that came from."_

" _What do I call you, Drink Man?"_

 _The corners of his lips reaching his eyes, he laughed. "Name's, Benny."_

 _Taking another drink, she felt her head get fuzzy and things started to fade away. Numbness claimed her and it was so welcome. She took another long drink. If this is what disappearing was, it felt really good._

 _Soon, before she realized it, she was hidden from even Rileytown._

 _She heard another voice behind her. Male. "Hey, Benny! Who's your new friend?"_

 _He was equally thin, but he looked a bit nicer in demeanor._

" _Skip, this is Little Bit."_

" _Young aren't ya?"_

 _Staring, she stood there. Bound by this new boost of confidence, she shrugged. "What's it to ya?"_

" _Easy, Killer. I didn't mean nothin by it."_

 _That had been the second time that exact phrase had been said to her in the last hour and a half._

 _Laughing, Benny slapped Skip on the side of his shoulder. "Go take her to get something to eat, man. I'll see you later." And he turned and walked off._

 _Turning toward the small brunette, he smiled. Throwing his arm around her shoulder, he looked down at her. "Well, come on, then, Little Bit. I know a place right around the corner here. Owner's my peep so he won't call anyone for you being … under the influence."_

" _Thanks."_

"Riley?"

"I don't see how this is relevant."

"Because it's important to you. And it needs to be dealt with."

"I'm not ready to let go of that part of my life, yet."

Watching her closely, she nodded. "I can see that you're not." Then she lifted her left leg from her opposite knee and leaned forward. "Tell you what. I'll make you a deal. You let one of your friends back here, I don't care which one, and we can talk about it later. Deal?"

Glancing up at the woman, she hesitated before finally nodding.

Smiling at the small victory, she stood. "I'll see you tomorrow, Riley. Would you like me to send someone in?"

Shrugging, she looked through the outside window. "I don't care."

"Miss Matthews?" And she waited until the brown eyes met her own. "Talk to them. They need to know you're still in there."

"What if I'm not?" She got out in a whisper.

"You are. You've just got to get through all the darkness you've put yourself in. Stop retreating and try facing the world. You'll see, it's not as bad as you thought."

* * *

"Peaches."

The smile wasn't big, but it was genuine. She couldn't help but be relieved simply from the fact that she'd said her name. It was more than she'd gotten in the last two weeks. "Hey, Little Plant." Came the quiet reply.

She looked down and studied her hand. "Peaches, I want to apologize."

"Apologize?" And she sat down in the chair beside the bed. "For what?"

"I put you in a bad spot asking you to keep my secret."

A tear dripping down her cheek, she shook her head. "You're my best friend. I would keep any secret you ever asked."

"I know you would. But as your best friend, I had no rights to ask you to do that."

"Do you know, at first, all I could think was I couldn't believe you were trusting me with something so huge."

"Then after?"

She shrugged. "I was scared. You stopped talking to everyone except me, and that was only when you were drunk. I missed my best friend. You trusted me with something so big, then you shut yourself off."

"I didn't want you to be a part of that world. I needed to get away. Where I wouldn't be judged."

"I never judged you. What right would I have, to judge anyone?"

Letting her breath out through her nose, she shook her head and looked down at her hands once more.

"You need to talk to Lucas, Riles. There's so much you two need to discuss. You being in here, it's killing him. Especially now."

Meeting her best friends eyes, she didn't stop the tears that brimmed. "I hate that everyone looks at me differently. Everyone out there...I heard them all when I first got here. They all pity me. 'Poor Riley.' The girl who got herself knocked up then lost everything because of a stupid misunderstanding. I can't stand the looks, Maya. The way my parents look at me? Like they should have known what was going on. It's even awkward with Shawn."

"Honey, it's going to be awkward. We almost lost you. What if it had been me? What if I had been the one in trouble? What would you tell me about people being awkward?"

Inhaling sharply, she turned back to her best friend. For a long moment she didn't say anything. She wouldn't realize in that moment, what that one question would do for her.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey all. Hang in there with me. I've had an extremely chaotic week which was not limited to but including have to have one of my cats put to sleep because of a tumor in his intestines. That in and of itself hit my six year old really hard, because he was her guard dog and napping partner. He was a BIG cat, born in this house, three years ago tomorrow. He was gone way too soon. I'm still writing, it's just taking a little bit longer to get this next chapter out! I'll get back on it soon though, I promise. I just wanted to let you know that I haven't forgotten, I just haven't had much time to sit down and put anything out. Soon, guys. I promise. You have hung on with me thus far, I promise I won't disappoint you.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey guys! I am SO SORRY this took so long to post. I promise, the last chapter will not take so long to get out! I am working on another GMW fic, so I wont be gone for long, I have just had a LOT going on as of late that started with my cat and seemed to snowball from there. Anyway, thanks for sticking around, and sorry about the wait. Dauntless: Thank you for your kind words. He is greatly missed. Without further ado...**

 **As per norm...** **I do not own Girl Meets World, any of its characters or things referenced henceforth. This is just my brain running with what I've got.**

* * *

 **DAY NINE**

"Good morning, Riley."

She cracked half a smile. "Morning." Came an answer that wasn't cheerful by far, but wasn't completely sullen.

"I'm assuming seeing Maya did you some good last night."

She shrugged.

"You gonna talk to her again today?"

"I don't know."

"I think you should."

"I know what you think. You think I should just open up and talk to everyone and be all happy go lucky."

"You really believe that. Don't you?"

She shrugged, not really answering the doctor.

"That's interesting."

"Whatever."

"Let me ask you, why did you get so upset yesterday when I asked you about disappearing?"

Biting her bottom lip, she shrugged.

"Why?"

"Because that's my place. That's not for you or anyone else. It's mine."

"And you don't want anyone else to be a part of it."

"No."

"Yesterday you said you weren't ready. I disagree with you."

"I really don't care if you agree or not. It's not for you to say."

"Maybe not, but I was right, about you talking to Maya, wasn't I?"

"So?"

"Talk to me about disappearing."

"No."

"I think it would help you to talk about it."

"I don't care. I don't want to."

Sitting back, she studied the young girl. "You don't want anyone else in. Not because you want it all for yourself, but because you don't want anyone to see you when you're in that low spot. You don't want anyone else to be privy to that part of your life, because you're scared they will get there too."

Shrugging, she didn't answer the woman, one way or another. But the good doctor was right. She didn't want anyone around because she wanted to be alone. As much as she hated it, it was what she deserved. Love didn't matter. People didn't stick around.

She watched the younger girl milling things around in her mind. "Will you do me a favor? Will you trust me again?"

Sad eyes glancing back, she let her breath out, barely nodding.

"Talk to Lucas. Let me send him in, right now. You need to talk to him. He needs to know how you feel. Will you do that for me?"

Fear crossed her expression. Fear of the unknown. Fear of seeing him again. Fear of the feelings she'd been suppressing for so long. Swallowing hard, she finally nodded. "Okay." she whispered.

Reaching out, she took the brunettes tiny hand into her own. "You can do this Riley. Trust yourself. Trust him."

* * *

"Lucas?"

The young man looked up at the woman walking into the waiting room.

"Would you like to see her?"

Nodding, he hesitated. "Yes ma'am. Will she see me?"

"I believe she will, yes."

Letting out a breath he felt like he'd been holding for months, he nodded. "Okay." and he followed her.

Timidly stepping through the door, he cleared his throat to make his presence known. She was staring blindly out the window. "Hey, City Girl."

Swallowing hard, she met his eyes. "Hey." came out in an almost pained whisper.

Sitting down next to her, he put his hand up and stopped short when she flinched. "I...um...how...how are you?" he asked, not sure where to even start.

Nodding softly, she shrugged. "I'm alright. Better than I was anyway."

"Good. I...uh...I'm sorry. For…"

"Don't."

"Riley, please. I need to get this out. As much for you as for myself."

Staring into his eyes, she could tell that he was telling the truth.

Taking a shaky breath in, he swallowed and started again. His throat felt like he hadn't had a glass of water in months. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you saw what you did, I'm sorry I didn't fight, and I'm so sorry you went through that alone."

"I don't want you to be sorry."

"Well I can't help it. And I'm not going to keep how I feel from you. Including the fact that I still love you."

Looking at her hands, she let her breath out through her nose. "I can't just unsee everything. I was so hurt when I saw it, and when I lost the baby…" and she reached up wiping the tear that rolled down her cheek.

"Riley how did you do that? Why? Did you honestly think I wouldn't want to know?"

"I thought you wanted Missy. I wasn't...I wasn't what you wanted. So I wasn't going to hold you back." she said, the last part trailing in a whisper.

Letting his breath out that he'd been holding while she spoke, his eyes closed as a tear snuck out from his own eye. "But then when you lost the baby…"

Unable to stop them, the tears seemed to fall freely. "It was my fault." she whispered.

His head shot up as he looked into her eyes and realized she truly believed that. Shaking his head, he blinked back a few more tears. "Why would you think that?"

"You weren't there. You don't know. It said that stress is one of the largest causes of miscarriage."

"Riley…"

"No. It was my fault. And the sooner you realize that, the better."

"Is that what the doctor said?"

Not answering, she simply stared, not nodding or shaking her head or giving any indication of how she was feeling.

His brows furrowed. "How long have you been doing that?"

Blinking, bringing herself back to reality, she took a choppy breath. "Doing what?" she asked quietly.

Leaning closer, he didn't stop it this time. He reached out, taking her hand. She didn't pull away. That was good. Linking his thumb with hers so they were touching palm to palm, he kissed her fingers. "Blocked your emotions from the world."

"I don't know what you're talking about." she replied blandly.

"Yes you do. You're doing it right now. You take on this blank expression and you're completely devoid of emotion. What are you feeling right now?"

Why did he see that? How did he see that? No one could read her like that. Pulling her hand back, she closed her eyes and turned her body to her side, still facing him. Opening her lids, she swallowed hard. "I'm tired Lucas. I don't want to talk about this." and she closed her eyes.

Letting his breath out through his nose, he stood, kissed her temple and paused before straightening himself, to whisper in her ear. "I love you, princess. I always will. You can push all you want to, but I think you and I both know that I'm never leaving you alone again."

* * *

 **DAY TEN**

"Good morning, Riley."

"Hey." she replied quietly.

Sitting in the chair, the woman studied her. "How did your visit go with Lucas?"

"Fine I guess." she answered, shrugging.

"You guess?"

Shrugging once again, she didn't look up. "I'm seeing him again today, if that's what you're asking."

"Well that's good, but I was rather hoping you'd tell me that you two had talked."

"We did."

"And?"

"He said he was sorry. He felt bad for me, just like I told you he would."

"From what I hear, you weren't really willing to let him feel bad about much."

"If you already knew that we talked, and what we talked about, why did you even ask me how it went?"

"Because I want your opinion on it. They're getting ready to let you go soon, and I need to know that I can let you leave here without jumping back into your habits. Because if I can't, I need to keep you in here. You can't go back to that lifestyle, Riley. It will slowly kill you."

"I can't promise I'll stay away."

Nodding her head, she half smiled.

"What?"

"You're ready to leave."

Confusion taking over, she shook her head. "What?"

"If you were to have told me you wouldn't ever go back, then I'd know you weren't ready and you were just trying to get rid of me and get out so you could go find your hiding place. By telling me you can't promise, tells me that you intend to actually try to stay away but that you don't have unrealistic expectations of yourself. You have a long way to go, Miss Matthews, I'm not going to lie to you. But you're on the right track. Do you think you're ready to leave?"

Shrugging once again, she looked up. "I don't know."

"Tell you what, talk to your friend Farkle today."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

"Can I see…"

"You can see anyone you want. But I want you to talk to Farkle."

Studying the woman, she finally nodded. "Fine."

"See you tomorrow, Riley."

* * *

Knocking softly, he poked his head in the door. "Hey, Riles."

"Hey, Farkle."

Coming in, he sat down. "How are you?"

"I'm okay." then she caught his expression. "Are you okay?"

Letting his breath out through his nose, he nodded. "I'm alright."

"Okay?"

"Truth is, I'm upset."

Looking away, she stared at the blanket. "I'm sorry."

"You don't even know what I'm upset about."

Her shoulders lifted and fell. "Doesn't matter. Does it?"

"Does to me."

"Okay then, why are you upset?"

He could tell she honestly wanted to know. "I'm upset because you did this by yourself."

"What? Farkle, I don't understand?"

"I thought we were better friends than that."

"I couldn't tell anyone." she whispered.

"You chose not to tell anyone. We could have helped you. I could have helped you. You didn't even give me a chance. That's what makes me upset."

"I'm sorry. After Lucas left…"

"After Lucas left, you and Maya just decided the rest of us didn't matter."

"That's not what happened." she said, tears brimming her lids.

"That's how it felt. Everyone just left. The whole group just fell apart. And all because no one but Maya knew what was going on. You just...disappeared. I thought that we were closer than that. We were friends long before Lucas ever came into the picture. You and Maya are my ladies. Did you think I wouldn't help you any way I could?"

"No. I...I just…" and she bit her lip.

"Listen, Riles, I didn't say that to you to hurt you or to make you upset. I just wanted to be honest with you, and I can't do that unless I get my feelings out there. I can't believe you took that away from me."

"It wasn't your problem, Farkle. It was mine. No one else needed to know about it."

"It wasn't a problem you should have dealt with alone. It wasn't a problem at all for that matter! It was a pregnancy. It was a medical issue. It was something you couldn't control."

"I wasn't alone." came the feeble argument.

"No, you had Maya. You could have had both of us, but you kept it to yourself. Please, please, don't do it again. Promise me you will talk to me. Promise me I'm worthy."

"Farkle, I've never said you were unworthy."

"No, but that's how it felt."

"I never meant…"

Cutting her off, he smiled gently. "I know you didn't. But I needed to tell you so you would know. So that I could get it off my chest and not hold it in. I love you, Riley. I'm never _not_ going to be there, if you need me to be. Even if you push me away." Standing up, he leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Get some rest. I'll see you later, lady."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Well...here it is folks! The last chapter is among us! I hope you've all enjoyed reading as much as I've enjoyed writing and seeing your reviews/favorites/follows. I will say, it's been brought to my attention that an email notification did NOT go out about Chapter 12, so if you are seeing this, and haven't read the chapter I posted since my update about the slow updating, then kindly pop back to Chapter 12 and catch yourself back up! LoL!**

 **Sand: As always, thanks a bunch! I'm so glad you like.**

 **Side Note: Don't own anything, just my imagination.**

* * *

 **DAY ELEVEN**

"Good morning, Riley."

Nodding this time, she smiled. "Good morning."

"You look well today."

Letting her breath out, she sat forward briefly. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I felt decent."

"Just decent? You're not the least bit excited?"

"Excited?"

"You're being discharged this afternoon."

"Really?"

"They haven't told you yet?"

She shook her head. "No one's been in yet."

"Oh. Well, don't tell them I told you." she said softly.

Giggling, she leaned back. "Your secret is safe with me, Doc."

"Do you realize that's the first time I've heard you laugh, or seen you smile?"

Looking away, the smile didn't completely lose its luster. "Yeah." and her brows knitted together. "I haven't exactly been the most forthcoming with things, have I?"

"That, you haven't, miss Matthews. But, dare I ever admit this again, I think you are one of my favorite patients."

Meeting the older woman's eyes, she half grinned. "Really?"

"Really."

"Why?" came out innocently.

"Because I knew, deep down, under all of that scruff, there was a really good person in there, that was just banging on the door to come out."

Worrying the stray strand on the blanket she was under, she blinked softly. "You think the door is opened now?"

She could tell the girl was asking for an honest opinion, and not trying to be boastful or to be sarcastic. "I think, that you are standing at that door, looking out at who you used to be and what your world used to be, and you're curious now. Before, you were so closed inside yourself, you didn't even care about what tomorrow held, much less the next few hours, few minutes, few seconds."

That made her stop and think. Tomorrow. "I haven't given much thought to tomorrow to be honest."

"Maybe not. But when I mentioned you going home, there was hope. There was an excitement for the future."

"Even though it's only a couple of hours from now?"

"Baby steps, Riley. You didn't get to this place overnight, you're not going to get better overnight. However, I definitely think that with a little time, and some work, we can get you better than you've ever been. Stronger. You have to want it though. And now, I believe you just may."

 **THREE MONTHS LATER**

 **RILEY'S POV**

Smiling into his incredible face, she stood solidly in front of him. "Thank you for bringing me."

Taking her into his arms, Lucas held her to him, smiling against her hair as he laid his cheek on the top of her head. "I'll always do whatever you need me to do."

Taking a contented sigh, she squeezed him tighter. "I think I know that now."

Releasing her, he reached under and tilted her chin up. "I'm sorry you ever doubted it."

Closing her eyes she shook her head. "Don't…"

"Let's take a walk." he said, cutting her off. He'd been careful about what he said to her, but admittedly, sometimes it was hard. Taking her hand, he led her through the park and they sat down on a park bench.

Turning toward him, she took a deep breath. "I don't want you to think you can't say something to me."

"What?"

"I see the way you dance around me. I wasn't...I want you to be honest with me."

"I will never not be honest. But I don't ever want you to feel like you need to run and hide. And to know I ever made you feel like you needed to disappear…"

"But that's just it. That is something that even I didn't realize until later. It wasn't anyone's fault but my own. It was just...my own defense mechanism. I didn't know how to deal. So I didn't. And now…"

"Brat!" came from somewhere behind them.

Turning, she couldn't help but smile. "Hey, Skip!"

"Wow! I hardly recognized you. You look great, kid!"

"Thanks." she said, blushing. Grabbing her other half's hand, she introduced them. "Skip, this is Lucas. Lucas, Skip."

Being polite but hesitant, he stepped forward and took the guy's outstretched hand. "Nice to meet you, officially."

Skip shook and grinned. "Nice to meet you as well." then he turned to the small brunette. "There's a light in your eyes. It's really good to see it. I hope it stays there always."

She smiled and looked up at Lucas. "I hope it does too."

Stepping close, he hugged her and stepped back. "It's good to see you. Maybe we'll run into each other again sometime. Who knows. I'm going back to school so I'm sure I'll be getting a mundane job here soon."

"That's great to hear, Skip. You take care, yeah?"

"You too, brat." and he glanced back at the blond young man beside her. "Don't you let her lose that fire again, yo. Never let her lose it again." and he turned, walking away.

Looking down at her now, he watched the friendship that had been there, even in it's oddest fashion. There had definitely been something growing there and dare he admit, he was as grateful as he was a tiny bit jealous. He'd understood exactly what the guy had meant when he told him not to let her lose her fire again, even if Riley didn't know the depths to which it ran. Admittedly, when she suddenly turned into him and held him close, it surprised him a bit. "You okay?"

"Absolutely. Can I ask you a question though?" and she pulled back.

"Anything."

"What did you guys mean by officially?"

Letting his breath out through his nose, he studied her expression. "He was there that night that I found you."

Trying to remember, it was hard for her to even think about it. It seemed so far away. Staring after the figure that was disappearing. She could feels his fingers massaging her shoulders as she stood.

"You were really fond of him, weren't you?"

She shrugged, not really ready to get into it, but resolving to be honest. "He just kinda...took care of me. A couple of times, when I was really messed up, he made sure I got to Maya's, after getting something to eat, and steering me clear of cops."

It was hard for him to hear what she was saying. To know that she'd been so close to danger, willingly..."Riley, don't feel like you have to answer me, did you ever do drugs?"

Shaking her head, she answered honestly, and was surprised it didn't affect her to talk about it, like she'd originally feared. Maybe it was just because it was Lucas. "No. I drank. I would have probably dabbled a bit if Skip hadn't been there, though, if I'm going to be completely honest about it."

Wrapping his arms around her protectively, he exhaled softly. "I think I'm glad he was there."

Nodding against his shirt, she took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. "I'm glad you're here."

Holding her head gently to his chest, he bent in and kissed her hair. "I'm glad I'm here too."

Looking up into his amazing eyes, she smiled. "Let's go to Topanga's. Everyone is supposed to meet us there for coffee in a few. Probably won't hurt if we get there a little bit early."

Smiling, he nodded. "After you, princess. Wherever you go, I shall follow."

* * *

 **Again, hope you guys have enjoyed! Will start posting my next story which is also an AU soon! :D See you there!**


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